Catholic essays & theology

Answering Catholicism

A simple public archive of Catholic essays, apologetics, theology notes, Church Fathers commentary, Scripture studies, and personal reflections.

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Philosophy

The Son Is Begotten, Not Made

The Catholic Church teaches that the Son is the eternal Word and perfect Image of the Father, equal to Him in divinity and never created. The language of divine self-knowledge can help explain this eternal generation, but only when it is carefully distinguished from creation, change, and temporal becoming.

Matthew G. Neece #divinity-of-christ
Philosophy

Why Man Suffers and How Christ Redeems It

Catholicism neither worships pain nor pretends that tragedy can be explained by a simple formula. It contemplates human suffering in the light of creation, the Fall, the Cross of Christ, the communion of saints, and the promised resurrection of the body.

Matthew G. Neece #suffering
Apologetics

Is Dispensationalism Biblical? A Catholic Answer on Israel, the Rapture, and the End Times

Dispensationalism teaches a sharp distinction between Israel and the Church and often includes a pretribulational rapture, a future earthly kingdom, and the restoration of Israel’s Temple worship. Catholicism affirms God’s continuing faithfulness to the Jewish people, but reads every covenant and prophecy through Jesus Christ, in whom Jews and Gentiles are gathered into one People of God.

Matthew G. Neece #dispensationalism
Personal Reflections

Dead to Sin and Alive to God

Romans 6 reveals that grace does more than pardon the sinner. Through Baptism, Christ brings the old life under sin to an end, joins the believer to His death and resurrection, and calls the Christian to live as one who now belongs entirely to God.

Matthew G. Neece #romans
Catholicism

There Was Never a Time When the Son Did Not Exist

The Son of God did not begin at Bethlehem, nor was He created before the universe. He is eternally begotten of the Father, equal to Him in divinity, and the eternal Word through whom all things were made.

Matthew G. Neece #divinity-of-christ
Catholicism

The SSPX, Excommunication, Vatican II, and Why Communion with Rome Is Not Optional

The renewed SSPX controversy has brought questions of schism, excommunication, Vatican II, and papal authority back into focus for Catholics attached to tradition.

Matthew G. Neece #schism
Catholicism

Why Catholics Ask Mary to Pray for Them

Catholics do not worship Mary or treat her as a substitute for Jesus Christ. They ask her to intercede because she is the Mother of the Lord, the foremost member of the communion of saints, and a living witness in heaven whose entire mission is to lead believers to her Son.

Matthew G. Neece #mary
Apologetics

In Defense of the Pope: Peter, the Keys, and the Vicar of Christ

In this post I will be analyzing the Papacy and the justification for it through the analysis of scripture, previous teachings, and church history.

Matthew G. Neece #papacy
Catholicism

Where Did Sin Come From? The Catholic Teaching on the Origin of Sin

In this post I will be analyzing the origins of sin and where it comes from.

Matthew G. Neece #sin
Catholicism

On Providence and the Fate of Man

From the outside, human life can look like a storm of chance. But the Catholic faith teaches that history is not ruled by blind accident, nor by a cold impersonal fate. Creation is governed by the providence of the living God.

Matthew G. Neece #providence
Apologetics

The Catholic Church and Slavery: Truth, Repentance, and the Fight for Human Dignity

This is an analysis on the Catholic Church and slavery

Matthew G. Neece #slavery
Catholicism

Do Dogs and Pets Go to Heaven? The Catholic Answer

In this post we will be analyzing whether or not the Catholic Church teaches if dogs and pets go to heaven

Matthew G. Neece #heaven
Apologetics

Is the Trinity Biblical? A Catholic Defense of One God in Three Persons

Many people misunderstand the Trinity. Some think Catholics believe in three gods. Others think the Trinity was invented centuries after Jesus by Church councils. Both claims are wrong.

Matthew G. Neece #the-trinity